The Forgotten Military Essential.

Within the world of military logistics certain items appear almost unheralded, and then rapidly become commodities without which modern military forces cannot function efficiently. One such item is the military shelter. Only a few decades ago the deployment of military shelters was a novelty. Now that same shelter is regarded as a `must have'.

Most current military shelters are adjuncts of the commercial ISO cargo container. Standard-sized ISO containers with universal handling accessories have revolutionised the science and handling capacities of commercial distribution networks. Associated handling equipment, carrier vehicles and specialised handling and stowage facilities have sprung up all around the world. It was a relatively simple matter for the military to adopt similar containers and handling techniques and blend them into their own logistic chains. By the time of the Gulf War, the military ISO container had really arrived, and to such extent that many observers now consider that the Coalition campaign could not have been supported logistically without it.

The Advent of ISO

It was not long before the military were finding that ISO containers had more uses than just transporting supplies. Troops discovered that the interior of a weatherproof ISO container was infinitely preferable to the usual canvas tents for field accommodation, despite possible ventilation and some other drawbacks. From there it was but a short step to supplying ISO containers already equipped for accommodation purposes and, at the same time, it was recognised that those same containers could also be supplied pre-equipped for command and communication posts, offices, workshops, field kitchens, medical centres, and so on. The list of possibilities has grown to the point where just about every military function can have an associated military shelter that can be prepacked (or stuffed to use the trade jargon) and, once transported to where it is wanted and unloaded, is then ready for immediate use. The mobile shelter also has the advantage that it is far more secure during transport and emplacement than many other alternatives.

The shelter concept was also carried over to vehicle bodies. The days when a specially equipped vehicle was developed for one specific purpose are over. Today, any standard flatbed truck or trailer in the appropriate size and payload category can be loaded with a suitably equipped shelter module as and when required, allowing greater logistic flexibility and reducing overall long term costs in the process.

The Kabin Example

Just one example of the modern military shelter concept can be provided from British Army experience during the recent Balkan operations. Once it was realised that the Army's stay in Kosovo was likely to be prolonged for much longer than originally thought, an alternative to the then in-use tented accommodation and makeshift shelters had to be found. At the time many soldiers `obtained' empty ISO containers and moved into them for sleeping or working accommodation, but this was not a complete solution, as many ISO containers lack heat and sound insulation and the expected ventilation problems arose. The proper solution came in the form of the UBK Kabin.

The UBK Kabin formed the base element of a three-year contract awarded to Hunting Engineering to support British armed forces personnel operating in Kosovo. The contract called for about 2600 UBK Kabins to create small `villages' that would at least partially replace the tented sites. The bulk of the UBK Kabins, supplied by Kudos 2000, formed sleeping/living accommodation, although some had to be diverted for other essential services.

The UBK Kabin is supplied in flatpack form with dimensions that suit all existing ISO handling equipment. Up to four complete UBK Kabins can be carried on a Drops/PLS flatrack. Once unloaded, a team of six can assemble and complete a UBK Kabin ready to be utilised in only 30 minutes (it takes as long to dismantle). No special tools or handling equipment are necessary.

Sleeping accommodation UBK Kabins contain flat-folding bunk beds, mattresses and kit lockers, along with a lockable door, emergency lighting, a heater, fly screens and blackout blinds. Office UBK Kabins contain flat-folding desks and seating. More specialised UBK Kabin contents for other purposes, extending to medical facilities, are available. If ground space is limited it is possible to stack one UBK Kabin on another.

The interior of UBK Kabins may be somewhat spartan but they are well insulated and weatherproof. They are infinitely preferable to tents, are far more secure and are no less portable and handy. An assembled UBK Kabin may be transported on any suitably sized truck.

UBK Kabins have been supplied to armed forces as far afield as South Korea, West Africa and Russia.

Hospitals and Others

The flat-pack UBK Kabin is but one approach to the military shelter. There are also assembled and expandable shelters with sidewalls that can be hinged open to increase the internal usable volume of each unit. They may be connected to others to form clusters of shelters to be utilised for any number of purposes, although field hospitals seem to be one of the prime applications.

Typical of these field hospitals are the pre-packed, large scale medical facilities produced by, to quote a few examples, Giat of France, Dornier and Schall of Germany and Modulmed of Belgium. As with so many current military shelters, most if not all are based on 6.096-metre ISO containers, complete with all the usual handling facilities. They come ready-equipped with medical facilities on a standard and scale that can match established static hospital structures, complete with fully-equipped operating theatres, wards, stores, laboratories and all the many utility services that medical units require. Using such shelter-based assets, fully-functioning hospitals can be established and based on any suitably sized area of terrain within time periods that were once impossible to even contemplate, the preparation time obviously varying with the size of the facility involved.

Similar field hospitals to those mentioned above are produced by Marion Composites (who can supply field hospitals with up to 200 beds or more) and Dornier Mobile Systems. There is no reason why others could not provide similar complexes among the many concerns already manufacturing shelters or ISO containers.

Those manufacturers already can (and do) supply individual and multiple-unit shelters for just about every military purpose that can be conceived.

Ready-equipped, stand-alone or multiple shelters can be supplied in the containerised format for field kitchens and field laundries, both available from Karcher, customs buildings and forward area airfield control posts by Gichner of the USA, and communication centres of all types and capacities from Britain's CSC, to quote but a few of numerous possible examples. The only practical limitation to the content of any military shelter appears to be the cost of the equipment/system involved.

Canada's Weatherhaven, another leader in ISO-based shelters, offers its Mobile Expandable Container Configuration (MECC), which features a rugged construction designed to withstand harsh climatic conditions and rough handling during transportation -- which can be accomplished via truck, rail, sea and air. Weatherhaven's MECC solutions include: kitchen cores and diners, laundries, field hospitals, command centres, workshops, sleepers and emergency response centres. Creature comfort options include aesthetic interior finishes, heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning, complete plumbing and mechanical systems and functional electrical/communication/computer cabling packages. The MECC sports a floor area that expands to 300 per cent its original size, yet a complete shelter takes only ten to fifteen minutes to deploy.

Another company specialising in containers, shelters, tents, scaffolding and special aluminium constructions, one that has been around since 1956, is Schall. Schall's mobile solutions range from protection cabins and tarpaulin covers to mobile operating stations that come complete with electromagnetical shielding. Both the Dutch and German armies cover themselves with Schall shelters, whose systems are being used by Nato forces in Kosovo, Macedonia and Eritrea.

Vehicles

Mention has been made above that the military shelter concept can also be applied to vehicles. The standardised aspect of vehicle- or trailer-mounted shelters has been carried over by the almost universal adoption of only a few regulation sizes, two of which predominate. They are based around the S-250 for light trucks (including HMMWVs), and the more container-like S-280 for flatbed trucks in the four- or five-tonne payload bracket. Both can be lowered onto the cargo area of the vehicle concerned and then secured in place using standardised fixed brackets and tie-down points. It is, of course, possible to dismount vehicle shelters and employ them as emplaced units. Some S-250 shelters feature a roof that can be lowered concertina-fashion to assist loading into aircraft.

As with ISO container-based shelters, vehicle-mounted shelters can be configured and equipped for every imaginable military function. Once again, medical or ambulance configurations are available although, overall, command bodies, communication centres and field workshops seem to predominate. S-250 and S-280 shelters can carry external add-on services such as air conditioning, generator or refrigeration units, and always carry ladders for access to entry doors or even the roof area to service external items such as antennas. As with ISO container shelters, accessories such as windows and hatches may be provided if needed. Other more esoteric extras, such as Kevlar panels for ballistic protection, can usually be provided. Such panels become very necessary when it is considered that a single strike from an anti-materiel rifle bullet (or even something smaller) could virtually knock out the functioning of a densely-packed shelter containing very expensive computerised command and control systems.

Many communication centre and similarly sensitive shelters can be provided with anti-jamming or electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) shielding, the latter against nuclear weapon effects. Shelters have been devised capable of withstanding the full force of nearby nuclear explosions but few appear to have been procured by any armed force, no doubt due to the high costs involved.

Handling

Most military shelters can be utilised once they have been emplaced on almost any relatively level terrain. Since a suitably-sized area of flat ground is not always available it may be necessary to introduce mechanical or hydraulic levelling and stabilising jacks, with the extra facility that such jacks can be extended upwards to permit loading or unloading from vehicles or trailers, as demonstrated by haacon's integrated container lifting device. The haacon system provides automatic levelling to ~0.1 [degrees], a memory function that recalls the previous container position and a safety stop at a 6 [degrees] slope. But for complete mobility special sets of wheels have been devised.

Corner-mounted dolly wheels that impart mobility to containers and shelters around established depot areas, or for directing such loads into transport aircraft, are commonplace but are usually of little use under rugged field conditions. For this, both the Danish Container Supply and CDK Mobile Systems of the USA have used a common container load carrier devised to lift and carry shelter/containers under cross-country conditions. Container load carriers can be hitched onto the usual shelter or container handling points to lift it off the ground (or a vehicle) using power derived from an integral diesel power pack. End or side lifting is possible and the diesel unit can also supply power for movements and positioning, although towing by a vehicle is usual during long moves. A similar device is manufactured by Italy's SAI Ambrosini, a concern well established in the manufacture of all manner of shelters and containers.

In short

* "Troops quickly discovered that the interior of a weatherproof ISO container was infinitely more comfortable than the usual canvas tents"

* "The days when specially equipped vehicles were developed for one specific purpose are now over"

* "Expandable shelters with sidewalls that can be hinged open can be connected to others to suit a number of purposes, particularly hospitals"

* "Vehicle-mounted shelters can be configured and equipped for every imaginable military function."